


Since the Fall...

by Gwenore



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 13:43:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8847295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwenore/pseuds/Gwenore
Summary: Belle French has always had a dream about the strange ruined cathedral just outside town, about a door found there… a memory from when she was a child, but has never been able to find it again. Until this day. Entering down she finds herself trapped, but she is not alone. Down there is a cage and its captive is still inside who attempts to bargain with her, that if she sets him free… he will help her get out. But just what will she be unleashing upon the world?





	1. Chapter 1

Belle French was walking up to the ruins of the old cathedral outside the small town of Storybrooke. She had studied it for so long, now only as shadow of the glory that it once had. Virtus Sanctus it was called, having taken several generations in order to build… a marvelous splendor by the accounts written… yet… after a mere fifty years later estimated around 1640, it along with the entire town simply known as Enchanted. The town of Storybrooke only founded in the late 1800s. By then… all that was left of the cathedral Virtus Sanctus and the town of Enchanted was nothing more than a collection of ruins. With no word of what had transpired.

From her earliest childhood she had been fascinated by this place… having ventured inside several times.

But there was a dream which had always bothered her. The dream of her as a small child waking into the cathedral… finding the door and then…

She was not certain. All she could remember was the smell of… citrus. It always bothered her that she did not know.

Every time she had searched for that door… but it had been impossible to find. She had been to the cathedral several times, constantly drawn to this place, but always left disappointed. As if she never found what she was looking for.

Now she was wandering those same ruins again, looking up at what was left of the ceiling.

What had happened to this town? Was what she had experienced as a child been nothing but an overactive imagination?

Running her hands over the smooth rock where the altar had at once been, standing on the stairs. Blinking she found herself turning her head. Partially hidden by the chancel there was an impression in the wall.

Slowly she walked over at it, her eyebrows furrowed. Had that impression always been there? She could not be certain, but she could certainly have missed it. Even in ruins the cathedral was a marvelous sight and there could be something that she had missed quite easily.

As she got closer a gasp left her mouth. There it was. The door. The very same door that she had seen in innumerable dreams from her childhood.

“It… it exists?” she asked, hardly able to believe what she was actually seeing. With a shaky hand she reached out and wrapped around the handle. She had expected that it would have rusted shut after centuries of being exposed to the elements, but it swung open as if it had no weight at all. Letting out a low gasp she found herself hesitating. An intense darkness met her there, but a gust of air told her that this was not some closet used by the clerics.

Flicking her phone open and turning on the flashlight finding stair that lead down. The stone had been carved ages ago it seemed, a heavy layer of dust gathering on the steps. She knew that she should not go down there… that it was dangerous and reckless… but… she could not resist.

Needing to see why this door and whatever lay behind had stayed in her dreams for so long.

Leaning her hand against the wall which seemed to be carved right out of the rock itself, she found herself descending far below ground.

Below there was a slight source of light… places where the cathedral floor had cracked, allowing both light and air to stream through.

“What is this place…?” she muttered then to herself.

This had been hidden… it was not by chance that it had been near impossible to find. But… what had they felt was so necessary to lock away?

Walking down the hall she all the sudden came to her senses. She could not wander these halls… the ceiling was already cracked, which meant that it could easily collapse at any minute. Her heart was pounding as she quickly made her way back to the stairs only…

The stairs weren’t there. They were gone.

She could not have gotten lost, she was certain of that. Her hand felt the wall as she used the other to hold the phone, searching all over to find the exit.

She found the arch… where the opening to the stairs had been but… it had been bricked shut… ages ago. Desperately she pressed her hands against what had been before her entry into this place, but it was not some illusion.

It had to be the wrong place… there were no other explanation for it so she searched for the real opening… or another place out, her high heals clicking against the stone… but no matter where she went… no matter what turns she took she ended up standing right before the bricked up arch.

How was that even possible? Could she really be turned around so easily?

She was feeling utterly exhausted as she leaned against the door, trying her best not to let the tears welling up in her eyes run down her cheeks. She did not want to die in this place!

Glancing down she found that her phone did not have a signal so she could not even call for help. No one knew where she was… how long would it be before anyone missed her? How long before they discovered her car… not to mention that she was below the cathedral itself.

“How could I have been so stupid?!” she berated herself.

Then… she saw it. Something bright and round rolling towards her. Puzzled she then wandered towards it and picked it up. It was a fruit… like a clementine or a mandarin… though… not quite. She smelled it. It was the smell which she up until then had only experienced in her dreams… but why was it down here?

It was fresh… as if it had just came off the wine, so golden in its color that it seemed to shine.

“Where did you come from…?” she muttered. Slowly she walked down where the golden fruit had come from.

For the first time the walls did not seem to loop and she was then faced with a dead end… a cage. Massive iron bars like teeth… a gate with a long shining pike thrust into the stone to keep it shut.

Was there… movement there? No… it could not be.

However she then slowly walked closer to it, but stopped a couple of feet before the bars, trying to see, but the darkness was too thick.

Then another golden fruit was tossed out from the darkness and gently rolled over to her feet. Belle let out a nervous gasp. She then nervously stepped closer.

“Um… hello… is… is someone in there?” she asked, her hand still clutching around her fruit. An eerie chuckle came from the dark, but she could not see anything.

“You might say that…” Belle was startled by the voice, stepping back.

“How… what… who are you?” her voice was barely above that of a whisper. Another giggle came from the darkness.

“Well… I have had many names during my time. Now… what is more important is that both you and me have a common goal now…” she could hear something move closer, but its footfalls was off… sounding more like hooves on stone than the steps of a man. Belle swallowed feeling herself forced to stay still, her heart slamming against her ribcage.

“And… what… what is that?” she asked. Whatever it was it was now close enough for her to discern the shape of a man.

“Well… to get out of this cathedral of course!” he continued that deranged chuckle. “So… do we have a deal? You help me out of this cage and I in return… will get you out of this… cave.”

Belle hesitated. Certainly she wished to get out of there, but…

“I… I don’t make deals with people that I haven’t seen the face of!” she dug up some bravery. He stopped there just out from her sight.

With a quick leap he was hanging onto the bars, looking down at her. Belle nearly fell back at the sudden movement, though her shock did not lessen when she finally was able to have a look at him. His skin like the fruit was shining in the low light, and his eyes were glowing down on her an unnatural coloring reminding her of that of a lizard.

Belle was unable to keep from letting out a loud gasp as she saw the long claws that was wrapping themselves around the bars of the cell, and his legs which ended in cloven hooves. His face was leaning out between the bars, those curved horns scraping against them as a long scaly tail wagged slowly behind him, shining like polished gold, like his hooves and horns.

He grinned towards her as he curiously cocked his head, clearly enjoying her shocked expression.

“So… little human… now you see me… so… about the two of us getting out… do we have a deal?”


	2. Chapter 2

Belle could only stand there in shock as she looked at him, her mouth agape with surprise.

“You are a demon!” was all that she managed to say in her utter state of shock. The creature looking down at her simply chuckled.

“Observant one are you not?” he said with a grin. “Now… what do you say you just remove that little thing there and we can get going?”

He pointed a talon down towards what she could now see was a shiny dagger. Bending her knees she looked and saw strange symbols on it… spelling out what she thought was a name, but… that was mostly a guess.

“So… that thing is what is keeping you in the cage…” she muttered. The demon above rolled his eyes as his tail gave an impatient flick.

“Well… yes… just remove it and I will be free,” it reached out his hand to mention her to do he instructed. Belle stood back up and crossed her arms.

“No.”

At her blatant refusal to do as he had wished, his eyes widened rendering him speechless, his mouth agape as he moved along the bars of the cell to get closer to her.

“Why not?” he enquired, leaning his head as far out of the bars as his horns would allow.

“Well… for one… you are a demon!” she pointed up at him.

“A bit presumptuous would you not say? But yes… I am a demon… technically speaking, though I do not see what that has to do with anything,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Because letting a demon loose on the world seems to me to be a very bad idea,” she said. He kept observing her before he again moved closer, still hanging off the bars as his golden scaled tail gently wagged back and forth.

“Yes… that would not be wise I grant you… but… there is one thing you have not considered little human,” his voice had a strange cadence to it, almost sing-songy in nature. It somehow made Belle even more uneasy than if he had been snarling at her like some vicious beast. This creature before her certainly would prove to be far more dangerous than that.

“And… what is that?” she asked rather nervously. He grinned towards her, before he mentioned her to come closer with those gleaming claws.

She wondered for a moment if it was wise… what if it was some trick or something. But she did as he wished, though not too close so he could easily grab her. When she was so close as she was going to get she mentioned him to say what he was going to say.

“What you are forgetting is… if I do not get out of here… neither do you!” he let out an insane cackle which turned into a continuous giggle. She blinked… she did of course not wish to die in this place… but to make a deal with a demon?

“I… I cannot let you free simply to escape this place… my own consciousness would never allow me to unleash a demon upon the world, one who I have to believe there was a good reason he was locked up,” Belle crossed her arms, attempting to protect herself from the unholy being’s gaze. Swiftly he jumped down from the bars landing with ease on his golden hooves.

“And why do you assume this so readily? Just because of the nature of my being?” he was walking along the bars.

“Yes… I cannot allow you to go out and posses people or kill them!” she said. The demon in the cage seemed positively offended at this.

“I shall have you know that I have never possessed a person in my entire existence I shall have you know. Nor do I do the whole slaughtering of the innocent thing. I mean… what would be the fun in that? It is not much of a challenge,” he said as he put his hand upon his chest with a giggle.

“How… how could I know that you are not lying?” she stuttered. He let out a loud scoff before he pointed down at the dagger.

“Because of that!” he said with what could only be described as hatred in his voice. Belle blinked as she glanced down at it.

“What about it?” she asked, clearly nervous still.

“It prevents me from lying… which… the whole honesty thing… you can be driven insane by less,” he rolled his eyes.

“Well… how do I know that that is not a lie?” she asked. The demon flicked his tail annoyed before he rolled his eyes.

“Awfully suspicious are you not?” he huffed.

“Well… I am speaking to a demon… being suspicious seems like the smart option,” Belle straightened her back. He let out a sneering scoff before he walked deeper into the cave for a moment, his glowing eyes showing his infernal mind thinking. He then turned towards her again.

“Well… if I were able to lie to you… why would I present myself as a demon of all things? Why not pretend I was a man who had been trapped down here when I was investigating the cave? Or anything other than… well… a demon!” he leapt closer to the cage again the hooves clicking of the stone. Belle was taken aback. It made sense what he was saying… exposing himself as a demon was not really the best way of making her think that it was wise to let him free from his cage. If he had looked like a man… she would never have hesitated to try to help him get free. She did not really believe in demons before she saw him so… the thought would not have even crossed her mind that he could be… something else.

But still she shook her head.

“But… that does not mean that you are not dangerous,” Belle then muttered.

“Well… of course I can be dangerous. I am a demon! But I need to get out! And trust me dear, death by thirst and starvation is a particularly horrific way to go!” he insisted as he grabbed around the bars, shaking them. She looked nervously around, before she started to back away.

“I will find another way out…” she walked around. He looked after her, before he let out another long chuckle.

“Oh… go ahead… I will see you later then,” he did not seem concerned. Belle felt eerie, feeling her heart pounding in her chest as she started to jog, trying her best to make certain that she was not turned around again, the golden fruit still in her hand.

 

Belle had wandered around the caves… but always ending up in the same place with the bricked up arch. Each time she did she heard a cackle down the hall where the demon was trapped. As if he knew.

Eventually she became tired… and annoyed. So she marched down the hall where the demon’s cage was located to find him leaning on the bars and giggling towards her, his tail curling in pure amusement at the expression upon her face.

“You are doing this!” she pointed an accusatory finger at him. The demon’s eyes widened as he did a mock display of offence.

“Oh, how you accuse me for everything. Quite the undignified behavior,” he let out a huff, but he then smirked. “No… it is not me. It is a measure to keep me locked up… one I figured out a long time ago how to beat by the way. Why I managed to break the spell long enough for the door to appear… so the moment you walked down here… well… no use for me to keep the spell broken anymore simply to let you out now is there?”  

Belle’s eyes widened in surprise. He had done this. Tricked her and made certain that she would not be able to get out… if she did not take him up on his deal. The demon’s satisfied smirk made her simply more annoyed and angry.

But she was also getting tired, so she leaned herself against the wall and let herself slide down into a sitting position.

“So… that is it then…” she muttered nervously.

“Well… no. Just remove the dagger and we will be on our way out of here,” the demon crouched close to her, leaning both his head and arms out of the bars. She glanced over at him before she shook her head.

“No… I am not going to do that,” she said firmly. He let out a loud groan.

“Why by the realms above or below must you be so difficult?!” he was practically banging his head against the bars in frustration.

“Because… I cannot be responsible for you hurting people!” she repeated herself. An infernal roar then came from the demon as he leapt at the bars, the whole cave threatening to collapse as the sound of massive invisible wings slammed against the walls and bars with intense force. Belle could but stare in awe of the sheer power emanating from this creature. If he got out, she was sure that he would disintegrate her into nothing.

But the bars held.

After this display of pure anger the demon forced himself to calm down and Belle noticed scorch marks which had cracked the stone with a blazing heat. Slowly he moved down from the bars looking down on her before letting out a chuckle, which only bore witness of how desperate he truly was, though his words chilled her.

“Fine! Die then… see if it bothers me!” he sneered before he proceeded to walk to the back of his cell vanishing from her sight.


	3. Chapter 3

Belle remained sitting with her back up against the wall, feeling the cold stone against her back… taking glances into the cage. Most of the time she could not see anything other than the darkness though at times she could see the shine coming from either his tail or horns, making her certain that he was still there watching her.

“So… you said you have many names… you could at least give me one?” she then said. His eyes flashed towards her in the darkness before he slowly started to move closer.

“And why would I do that?” he sneered towards her. She was not surprised by his hostility… she had not expected him to be polite after her not releasing him from his prison.

“Well… I am not certain… but is it not better to have someone to talk too?” she asked as she moved closer.

“If you are going to try to convince me to let you out of here…” he pointed his claw at her.

“Well… perhaps you could convince me to let you out then,” she countered. With this he moved closer, crouching down by the bars, as close to her as his confines would let him, having a grin on his face to show off his sharp fangs.

“So… a game then?” he chuckled towards her.

“If you wish to call it that,” Belle was not certain that this was a good idea, but she could not longer stand just sitting there in silence.

“Oh, I do like games… I am quite good at them as well,” the demon chuckled.

“I can imagine that you are. So… do you have a name that I can call you?” she then asked.

“Yes… several. Which one do you want?” it giggled.

“How about your true name?” Belle then asked. The smile then seemed to vanish from the creature’s face.

“No,” he said, a sneer upon his lips. Belle blinked, though he seemed rather defensive by this.

“Um… alright. How about a name you like then?” she held up her hands, showing that she would not press this issue. The demon glanced up on the ceiling, thinking for a while.

“Always liked the name Rumplestiltskin,” he then mused with a grin. This caused her to be really surprised.

“Like the fairytale character?” she had to ask. He chuckled.

“Yes, you would be surprised at how many of these stories that you tell your children about were inspired by… well… demons,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Alright… um… Rumplestiltskin… why… why were you trapped in here?” she asked, moving a bit closer, though she was still very cautious. His tail flicked gently, his hands leaning his arms out of the bars.

“Hm… several reasons. Causing a bit of trouble for certain people… and… for protection. Trust me when I say little human… there are things out there which makes demons seem… truly insignificant…” he let out a chuckle. This somehow made her feel a shiver run down her back. It was hard enough for her to believe that demons were real… and not learning that there were things that they feared… that made them feel powerless…

However the demon interrupted her thoughts.

“So… my turn to ask you some questions little human… what is your name?” he asked, leaning his head to the side, grin still showing on his face.

“Is it not dangerous to give your name to a demon?” Belle asked, bringing her arms closer around herself. The demon’s grin grew wider as it gave a slight shrug.

“Well… it can be… but… you are going to die anyway so… what is the harm?” he grinned at her. The thought of dying down her crept closer to her mind, almost making her free this demon, but… how could she live knowing the pain which he would bring upon others. Besides… what would keep him from turning on her the moment that the cage door was opened?

“It is Belle…” she then muttered.

“Ah… beauty… fits you certainly,” he said, his voice now soft and musical, clearly attempting to lure her into a false sense of safety.

“Thank you…” she continued to take glances at him, though she would never fall for his compliments… but his voice certainly was alluring. He let out another low chuckle.

“Now for my true question… what is it that you desire?” he asked her, leaning his face against one of the bars his eyes continuously observing her.

“What I… why do you want to know?” she stuttered.

“Oh… I already know what you want… I can give it to you, you know… I can make your wish come true,” he teased her, grin showing on his lips. Belle rolled her eyes.

“Say that I believe you know what I want… I know better than making deals with a demon… I have read Faust you know,” she huffed. He simply let out a chuckle.

“Not quite certain just what that is referring to… but… I can imagine. Still… you need not worry. Deals with demons are only dangerous when you don’t know what they want… and you know exactly what I want. I simply want my freedom… not too much to ask is it?” he mused as he continued to look at her.

“Why now…?” the thought struck her. He must have been trapped in here since before the town was abandoned… for nearly four hundred years. Why did he feel the need to get out now?

“Why now what dearie?” the demon calling himself Rumplestiltskin asked.

“Why are you so insistent on getting free now?” she then continue. Again the smile seemed to vanish from the face of the demon.

“Perhaps… perhaps you are the only one who had been foolish enough to walk down here,” he shrugged, attempting to avoid the question, but Belle simply shook her head.

“No… I don’t believe that… in four hundred years? You have never been able to trick anyone else down here?” she questioned. He remained silent, staring at her with an uneasy look on his eyes.

“Perhaps for those four hundred years… I was exactly where I wanted to be,” he spat back at her, now clearly more defensive, and she could feel the power looming of him again. Like his true nature was in what she could almost see spreading out from his back.

Again her eyes went towards the walls of the cage… how it had cracked the rock with that immense heat.

Could the creature before her really hold that much power? Despite his truly demonic look… he clearly did not seem as powerful as he was. Though… that made sense… why would he show his true power… but then again… why hide it? He did not hide the fact that he was in fact a demon… but this… this he felt a need to keep hidden.

Not to mention the fact… if he was so powerful as he was… she had no doubt at what he could do… how was he able to be trapped? Though from what he had said earlier, it was for his own protection… though even this she doubted was true.

This creature… he had power which he chose to hide… immense power. For Belle it seemed impossible that he had so much to fear. Perhaps he could not fight it, but certainly he could escape. Yet… he chose to be trapped… for four hundred years.

“Why…? What made you feel the need to hide away… for four hundred years?” she asked. He let out a low chuckle.

“Well… what can I say. I am not what you would call a popular guy… above… or below,” he giggled towards her.

“So you hid… down here, pretending to be caught,” she then said. He shrugged.

“At first… then… I was tricked. One of the blasted nuns knew well enough to use the dagger to keep me locked up… which is why you are here. To remove it,” he again mentioned towards the blade which held the gate shut.

“So… your plan did not go as you wanted… not fully at least… you could not get out as you wished… you need help,” Belle continued her thoughts out loud.

“Very observant for a human…” he huffed.

“But… that does not explain why… why you feel the need to get free now,” she then said. With this the demon stood up, starting to pace back and forth.

“Things have changed,” he said, his tail slamming against the bars in frustration as he walked, and she could hear something else… brushing up against the bars, flickers of flame going across the metal right behind him as he continued his frustrated pacing.

“What has changed? Has someone discovered where you are and you need to escape? Is that it?” Belle now got up to her own feet as she attempted to keep up with the demon. Rumplestiltskin glanced over his shoulder at her, his lips parted ever so slightly to show his fangs. He seemed even reluctant to answer, though that in itself was an answer to her.

This was not simply about him escaping whatever threat that he knew was coming… there was something more here.

“No… that is not it, is it… you are not simply looking for a way to escape are you?” she walked all the way up to him, looking deeply into those glowing eyes.

“Can we not leave it at the fact that I perhaps do not wish to stay in this hole anymore after four hundred years?!” he hissed at her.

“No! Because… that is not the truth!” she said firmly. He huffed at her as he shook his head, moving away from her, but she then continued to follow him.

“Why do you wish to know?!” He was now snarling at her, but she did not back away.

“How can I possibly let you out if I do not know the reason you wish to escape?!” she stepped even closer to his cage… now close enough that he could reach out and crush her if he wished to. There was something wild in his eyes as he stepped closer to her, the heat blazing from his back, blackening the walls and roof and cracking the stone itself as she felt he was about to bring the cathedral down upon them.

But she held her ground, doing her best to not even flinch.

“Why?!” she demanded. She was forced to step back as the demon charged the cage, the bars shaking, but once again holding.

“BECAUSE I NEED TO FIND MY SON!”


End file.
